Interpublic's Initiative unit is trying an innovative approach to its disparate array of innovation units: rolling them up. In the hope that the sum of the parts will be greater than the whole, Initiative has consolidated three separate operating units focusing on innovative approaches to planning, buying and executing media - the quirky named Amphibian, the aptly named Innovations and its apparently named Digital units - into one umbrella organization that will be headed by former Innovations chief Dave Rosner. The three units will continue to operate distinctly, but will be centralized under Initiative's Digital unit and will report to Rosner, who becomes executive vice president-director of Digital & Innovations. Rosner is an award-winning executive who is part of the team that Alan Cohen, now CEO of OMD U.S., brought in when he created the Innovations unit at Initiative with a mandate of crafting breakthrough media strategies based on creative thinking that leverages the assets of the media vendors Initiative works with. The reason the new, as-yet-unnamed centralized organization is being reorganized under Initiative's Digital operations is that a good number of those efforts tend to be digital by nature, but not exclusively, says Shane Ankeney, executive vice president-managing director of Initiative U.S., to whom Rosner reports along with Michael Hayes, president of Initiative Digital Worldwide. "A lot of what they do is driven by technology, not solely," Ankeney explains, noting that the Innovations team frequently works around analog media and physical events that spark great ideas. But even those typically tie into digital extensions, such as a deal Rosner's team recently struck for the Bonnaroo music festival in Tennessee. "It's an event, but there are also online components to it. It's multiplatform," notes, adding that digital tends to be where much of the "white space" and innovative thinking is taking place with media these days. Ankeney said the centralization of the three units under one management group, will enable Rosner's team to "sit at the table" as one integrated entity when brainstorming with clients and media vendors, but each of the units will continue to incubate and cultivate its own brand of media. "It was a legacy thing," Ankeney said of the way the disparate organizations evolved, and the new organization was created to preserve the best of their independent thinking, while leveraging the kind of synergies that come from working together.
Even as OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network has had some bumps getting off the ground, Winfrey said Thursday she has confidence success is coming as her involvement moves to full throttle. "I wouldn't bet against me, I just wouldn't," she said at the national cable convention. As she's wrapped her syndicated show, she says she is giving all she's got to her new endeavor: "Myself, my heart, the soul, the spirit of me, my company -- the people in my company (are) dedicated now to the vision of OWN." Winfrey said that entity, Harpo, will remain in Chicago, and the 300 people there will produce shows for the network, including taking the nearly 4,900 episodes of Oprah's syndicated show and refashioning them in an appealing way to air on OWN. The Chicago team will also produce "Oprah's Next Chapter" and the shows with Gayle King and Rosie O'Donnell. Appearing at the national cable convention, Winfrey put to rest suggestions she will do broadcast specials a la Barbara Walters, saying she will only appear going forward on cable. As she does interviews on OWN, she said she hopes to land ones with two people she couldn't get on the "Oprah Winfrey Show": Susan Smith, the South Carolina woman who killed her children, and O.J. Simpson. "I have a dream of O.J. Simpson confessing to me, and I am going to make that happen, people!" Winfrey told the crowd. Winfrey said when "the Z man" (Discovery CEO David Zaslav) came to her and presented the concept of OWN, he told her: "We need you to be all in or nothing," If not, "we will both go our separate ways." Winfrey said she would be fully committed, and now she can be. "This is the moment I've been waiting for for the past two years," she said. Discovery, which Winfrey said has been patient, is a half-owner of OWN with Harpo. Winfrey said she would have employed a more conventional model in running a cable network when getting OWN going: Establish one night of programming, then move on to others. As she gets involved in OWN programming, Winfrey faces new challenges. She had total control of her show's content, but now, she has to determine what can work in new areas. On the plus side, she has discovered a lot of talent and launched various syndicated shows with them. "It's a little harder making that judgment about what other shows can do," she said.
Bloomberg said it has tapped an executive at ABC News' digital operations to lead its 24-hour business news network, which will relish closing the gap with CNBC. Andrew Morse, with a lengthy career at ABC News, will report to Bloomberg Media Group CEO Andrew Lack in the role. Morse has been executive producer of innovation and integration for ABC News Digital, which includes ABCNews.com and ABC News Now, a broadband channel that has some cable distribution. At Bloomberg, Morse will oversee programming and operations at Bloomberg Television, which is in about 70 million U.S. homes. He will also look for symbiotic relationships across Bloomberg's other content arenas. Lack stated Morse brings an understanding of "the needs of today's media organizations to deliver creative content to consumers across multiple platforms." Morse also logged time as executive producer of the weekend edition of "Good Morning America" and as a senior producer for ABC's "World News" on Saturday and Sunday.
Extending its TV-sports marketing efforts, Stan Lee's "The Guardian Project," a bunch of comic-book hockey-theme superheroes, has struck a marketing and equity deal with NBC Universal. Lee's comic-animation story, which focuses superheroes representing each of the National Hockey League's 30 teams, launched in October around a deal with the NHL. "The Guardian Project" is owned by Guardian Media Entertainment, a company formed by SLG Entertainment led by Stan Lee of POW! Entertainment and NHL Enterprises. NBC is the broadcast partner of the NHL and most recently extended the arrangement, striking a 10-year deal with the league to air games on the NBC network and its cable network Versus. Both the NHL and NBC see these characters as a way to reach out to younger audiences. Already, NHL teams have been using the "Guardian" characters in local markets promotions, selling apparel and other merchandise featuring the animated athletes. Comic books and a novel are in development, as well as social and gaming options. In January, the first characters started rolling out during the 2011 NHL All-Star Game. Though the deal is only marketing-based right now, NBC Universal, with a minority equity stake in the property, could be involved in developing TV series, films, comic books, games, licensed merchandise and theme park attractions. The deal allows Guardian Media Entertainment to also develop entertainment extensions with other TV producers. "Since the inception of GME, our goal has been to partner with a major media company that has broadly distributed consumer platforms to exponentially increase the awareness and scope of The Guardian Project," stated Mark Terry, COO of GME.
Meredith Shutters ReadyMade Meredith Corp. is closing ReadyMade magazine and cutting 75 positions companywide, reflecting "ongoing weakness in the home category/marketplace." While far fewer big magazines have closed in 2011 compared to 2010, the fate of ReadyMade serves as a reminder that large parts of the industry are still struggling, especially when they depend on troubled economic sectors like real estate. ReadyMade -- a bimonthly do-it-yourself targeting younger women -- was closed after 10 years in print, including five years as a Meredith property. While popular among a sought-after demographic, its circulation (335,230) and overall reach remained relatively small, compared to Meredith flagships like Ladies' Home Journal and Better Homes and Gardens. That made it something of a "niche" publication -- and the odd man out in the Meredith roster. To give some idea of the disparity, in the first quarter of 2011, ReadyMade's total ad pages declined 8.5%, compared to the same period in 2010, to 17.6, for total rate card revenues of about $700,000, per Publishers Information Bureau. Meanwhile, LHJ saw ad pages decrease 2.4% to 188, for total PIB rate card revenues of $42.9 million. As part of these cutbacks, Meredith also announced it is taking a special charge of about $10 million related to the closing of ReadyMade and 75 layoffs. Hearst Picks Pixazza Hearst Corp. is beefing up e-commerce options on its magazine Web sites through a new partnership with Pixazza, which integrates e-commerce functionality with interactive images. For example, when a user scrolls over an interior decorating photo shoot, a small card from Pixazza appears, offering brief descriptions of products under the cursor, which allows the consumer to purchase the product. Pixazza also produces a list of similar or complementary products available for purchase. Hearst is launching the new Pixazza service on the Web sites for Redbook and House Beautiful, integrating e-commerce options into images from advertisements and some editorial content. GQ Partners with Park & Bond Conde Nast's GQ is also bolstering its e-commerce options through a new partnership with Park & Bond, which will allow the men's mag to establish a virtual "boutique" on its site for at least six months, beginning with the first run from September-February. Possible renewals may follow. The fashion items and accessories sold in the virtual boutique will be chosen from among those featured in GQ, with about 12 products highlighted per month. GQ is also establishing a dedicated microsite linking to the boutique. Watt Joins Time Inc. Branded Solutions Dave Watt has been named vice president of sales for Time Inc.'s Branded Solutions division. Previously, Watt served as vice president and publisher of Health, including its Web site. In his new position, Watt will be responsible for leading a team of corporate sales directors. He will also coordinate with national sales and marketing staff to create branded programs for advertisers. Segall To Hollywood Reporter SVP-Publisher Lynne Segall has been named SVP-publisher of The Hollywood Reporter. She spent 20 years at the pub as vice president, associate publisher, overseeing 10 special issues and custom published sections. She rejoins THR from PMC, publishers of Deadline.com, TVline.com and Movieline.com.
Game seven of NBC's "NHL Stanley Cup Finals" did its job as the top-rated show of Wednesday night. It earned high marks versus the final game of the event over the last two years. NBC took a 3.2 rating/9 share among 18-49 viewers (and 8.05 million total viewers) for the Boston Bruins victory over the Vancouver Canucks, according to Nielsen. This was up over 7% versus game seven of the 2009 NHL finals event. Final ratings almost always rise for prime-time sporting events over preliminary numbers. A year ago, final ratings for the sixth game of the NHL event pulled a 3.2/10 among 18-49 viewers and 8.3 million total viewers. The second-best-rated show of the night, Fox's "So You Think You Can Dance" took an expected hit, but was down slightly -- 7% -- from a week ago to 2.6/8. A year ago when "Dance" and the last game of the "Stanley Cup" aired, hockey scored a 3.2 rating versus a 3.0 "Dance" number among 18-49 viewers. The only other new content on the English-language broadcasters last night was an ABC News special "Caught In the Act," which only registered a 1.6 rating/5 share on broadcast last night. NBC won the night overall, at 3.2/9. Fox was next, at 2.6/8. Last week, the two networks were virtually tied at 2.8. A week ago, NBC's "America's Got Talent," its main program of the night, got to a 3.2 rating. Other networks, dominated by reruns, were as follows: ABC, a 1.4/4; Univision, a 1.3/4; CBS, a 1.2/4; and CW, a 0.4/1.
WPP's JWT New York is getting into Madison Avenue's start-up game, announcing a sponsorship of the summer program of TechStars New York, which kicks off July 11. The agency said the sponsorship is part of its ongoing efforts "aimed at anticipating and actively participating in driving changes that will fundamentally define the future of consumer, business and brand behavior." "The start-up scene is something we can all learn from. People are collaborating, making things, trying out new stuff. There is an energy that reminds me of the early digital days," states James Cooper, Chief Creative Innovation Officer at JWT New York. "The flip side is that we can help these exciting companies with their brands, help them foster relationships with clients and give them some real world experience." Cooper will manage the relationship on behalf of JWT, along with Ann Mack, Director of Trendspotting. TechStars currently runs accelerator programs in Boulder, Colo., Seattle, Boston, and expanded to New York earlier this year. Its inaugural New York program, managed by David Tisch, included startups Immersive Labs, which builds ad technology for digital signs that enables marketers to deliver tailored messages to customers in real time; OnSwipe, a platform that makes it easy for publishers to make their content and advertising a beautiful experience on touch-enabled devices via the browser; and CrowdTwist, which allows brands to engage and activate their fan base across the social Web, building brand loyalty.